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| The WHO chief says the pandemic continues, though it's no longer a global health emergency |
The
World Health Organization has declared an end to Covid-19 as a global public
health emergency, more than three years after the disease spread across the
planet and claimed the lives of nearly 7 million people and brought the global
economy to a virtual standstill.
WHO
Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus issued the declaration on May 5 at
the recommendation of the health body’s emergency committee, which earlier held a video-conference
for the 15th time since the pandemic began in January 2020.
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“I have accepted
that advice. It is therefore with great hope that I declare Covid-19 over
as a global health emergency,” Tedros said. He said the committee advised that it is
time to transition to long-term management of the pandemic.
Globally, there
have been 765,222,932 confirmed cases of COVID-19, according to
WHO data that included 6,921,614 deaths reported to the agency as of 4:16pm in Central Europe on May 3.
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The committee said that 13.3
billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines had been administered. It said that, currently,
89% of health workers and 82% of adults over 60 years have completed the
primary series (the initial one or two doses recommended as per the vaccine
schedule), although coverage in these priority groups varies in different
regions.
In Hong Kong, the number of PCR- and RATS-confirmed COVID-19 cases reached 2,893,635 as of today, May 7, with a total of 13,584 deaths, according to the Hong Kong University School of Public Health real-time dashboard.
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The number of infected patients has plunged from 25,053 in January this year to just 126 in March, or a total of 151,114 cases for the first quarter of this year, according to data from the Department of Health’s Centre for Health Protection.
In January 2022, CHP revised the COVID-19 figures according to the date the cases were reported. The Hong Kong government revised the reporting criteria of the disease on January 30 this year, requiring doctors to report only severe and fatal cases to the CHP.
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WHO’s designation of a “public health emergency of international concern” (PHEIC) is reserved for the most serious disease outbreaks. The United Nations agency has assigned the label to seven outbreaks since 2007: monkeypox, COVID, Zika, H1N1 flu, polio and Ebola (designated twice as an emergency).
“For more than a year, the pandemic has been
on a downward trend, with population immunity increasing from vaccination and
infection, mortality decreasing and the pressure on health systems easing. This
trend has allowed most countries to return to life as we knew it before
Covid-19,” Tedros said on Friday.
He noted that the number of
weekly reported deaths and hospitalizations continue to decrease, but expressed
concern that surveillance reporting to WHO has declined significantly, that
there continues to be inequitable access to life-saving interventions, and that
pandemic fatigue continues to grow.
“The worst thing any country
could do now is to use this news as a reason to let down its guard, to
dismantle the systems it has built, or to send the message to its people that
Covid-19 is nothing to worry about,” Tedros said.
In response, the Hong Kong government
said it will use WHO’s latest advice on the epidemic situation in appraising
its prevention and control mechanism, and adjust the remaining relevant measures
and arrangements accordingly.
HK also took note WHO’s warning that
although Covid-19 is no longer a public health emergency of international
concern, the pandemic continues.
“As the number of local infected cases keeps climbing recently, the government
will continue to closely monitor the situation of Covid-19 mutations and the
risks with emphasis on the protection of high-risk groups, and keep watch of
WHO's latest assessments,” said its statement.
“We also
call on those who have not completed the first three doses of vaccine, as well
as persons in the high-risk groups who have not yet received vaccine boosters
as per experts' recommendation, to get vaccinated as early as possible for
protection of oneself and one's family.”
The WHO director-general advised
all states parties to adopt the following temporary recommendations:
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Sustain the national capacity gains and prepare for
future events to avoid
the occurrence of a cycle of panic and neglect. States parties should consider
improving country readiness for future outbreaks, including updating their respiratory
pathogen pandemic preparedness plans.
·
Integrate COVID-19 vaccination into life course
vaccination programs. States parties
should maintain efforts to increase COVID-19 vaccination coverage for all
people in the high-priority groups with WHO-recommended vaccines and continue
to actively address vaccine acceptance and demand issues with communities.
·
Bring together information from diverse respiratory
pathogen surveillance data sources to allow for a comprehensive situational
awareness. States parties
should maintain reporting of mortality and morbidity data as well as variant
surveillance information to WHO.
·
Prepare for medical countermeasures to be authorized within national regulatory frameworks to ensure long-term
availability and supply. States parties should strengthen their
regulatory authorities to support long-term authorization and use of vaccines,
diagnostics, and therapeutics.
·
Continue to work with communities and their leaders
to achieve strong, resilient, and inclusive risk communications and community
engagement and infodemic management programmes.
·
Continue to lift COVID-19 international travel-related
health measures, based
on risk assessments, and to not require any proof of vaccination against
COVID-19 as a prerequisite for international travel.
·
Continue to support research to improve vaccines that reduce transmission
and have broad applicability; to understand the full spectrum, incidence and
impact of post COVID-19 condition and the evolution of SARS-COV-2 in immune-compromised
populations; and to develop relevant integrated care pathways.
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